Birthday Card Tutorial (for Off the Rails Scrapbooking)

It's my turn once again to share some tools of the trade

on the OFF THE RAILS SCRAPBOOKING blog!

The August mood palette came with this very beautiful sketch 

designed by Fiona Paltridge:

I love to use sketches as my base inspiration for any layout or card so I decided

to show you how a sketch designed for a layout can easily be used to create a card also.  

First, I started off with a 5x5 ivory colored base.

  

In order to recreate all the mixed media designs on the sketch,

I used 2 different stencil patterns with Distress Inks on my base, 

first with Rusty Hinge color...

then, with Black Soot.

I then used another stencil and added some texture with molding paste,

making sure to dry it completely with my heat gun before the next step.

Next, I sprayed some gold mist with one shot of black.

I added some 'coffee stain' style circles, using a mist bottle cap dipped in ink.

Then, it was time to add some paper elements.

I started with a long tag that would follow the same vertical pattern of the sketch.

In place of the pictures, I added little paper squares along the right edge of the tag.

The embellishments came next, starting with flowers.

I then cut out a little flag with the sentiment on it.

I love the look of sequins on my pages so I added a few around the flower clusters,

as well as some tiny black gems along the bottom and top of the tag.

Finally, I tied some black string in the tag and gave my card a light whitewash finish,

using white acrylic paint and a sponge dabber.

Here is my finished card based on the layout sketch...

and some close-ups on the details:

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial this month.

Now you will be able to profit even more from all your sketchy inspiration,

creating a layout AND a card using the same sketch!

Visit Off the Rails Scrapbooking HERE for daily inspiration!

Butterfly Kisses (Blue Fern Studios August Sketch)

It's been a very busy month on the creative front.

And it's not quite over yet.

You all know how I love laser-cut chipboard as I use it 

on practically all my creations.  Well I dug through my huge stash

of chippies to take out some beautiful BLUE FERN STUDIOS pieces and 

create this layout inspired by their August Sketch Challenge!

Here is the beautiful sketch from which I was inspired:

You can learn more about Blue Fern Studios products (they also have gorgeous

paper collections as well as stamps available!!) and this challenge right HERE!

I used 3 BFS pieces on my layout:

Tattered Diamond Bits

Butterfly Kisses Title

Fancy Birdcage

As I don't own any BFS papers at the moment, I decided to use the light blue

 chipboard packaging on my layout which I found went perfectly with my background.

As you can see, the Tattered Diamond Bits are just perfect for slipping under 

flower clusters for added dimension.  I dabbed them with Distress Inks 

(black soot, blueprint sketch & mermaid lagoon) 

and then added some white paint as well as touches of pink.

I created additional layers with die-cut doilies and tags, topped with flowers.

It's no surprise I chose the 'Butterfly Kisses' title

when you see this adorable picture of my niece Ella

during a memorable visit to Butterfly World.

The title was painted with black metallic acrylic paint

and the 'Fancy Birdcage' was first covered with a coat of gesso,

then dabbed with different shades of pink topped with a little dabs of white paint.

Hope you enjoy my take on the Blue Fern Studios August Sketch Challenge!!

Dreamy Card Set (Lemoncraft DT Reveal part 2)

For my 2nd part of my Lemoncraft DT Reveal, I created a card set using the pretty vintage 

girl images on the I Wish You... paper, also from the 'Dreamy Mornings' collection.  

You can see the entire collection up close right HERE in the Lemoncraft store.

There is 3 girl images, each  of different colors which I found would be perfect 

to create 3 distinct cards but still similar enough to be included in the same set:

Card #1 is all in shades of peach to match the little girl's pretty dress.
I added some Lemoncraft flair and flowers as well as some handmade stitching
across each stripe in the background paper.

Card #2 is decorated in turquoise with a soft touch of pink,
all tied in a cute bow using a satin ribbon from Lemoncraft.

And card #3 showcases the colour pink with a little yellow.
I followed the stitching pattern on the paper to add my own stitches in a quilt pattern.

Now, what will I create and what products will I showcase

in next month's DT reveal for Lemoncraft?  Keep visiting to find out! :)

Love U 2 (Lemoncraft DT Reveal part 1)

Well, it's already time for another DT reveal at Lemoncraft!
Where has the past 4 weeks gone?!

Last month, I shared some creations using a combination
of different Lemoncraft collections and products.
This time around, I thought it would be nice to showcase one specific collection.
Since all collections are so equally beautiful, I wasn't able to choose,
so I sang a little counting rhyme and my finger stopped on 'Dreamy Morning'!

View the complete collection right HERE!

I started by creating this layout using the gorgeous die-cut paper

 'Make Your Own Sunshine' as my base:

I love how the dreamy colours of these papers blend together to make this layout 

so very chic and girly, perfect for this precious picture of my friends's cute daughters.

I added the square frame from the Set 2 and the pale thin flowers from the paper flowers set.

Come back tomorrow for some more Lemoncraft inspiration!

You (Kraft+ August Challenge)

I just love the concept of the KRAFT + challenge blog as I adore the 'kraft' look.  

So every month, I find myself wanting to participate in their challenge, 

but time always flies by so fast and I find myself overwhelmed by all that I have to do.

This month though, when I saw the August  "Zentangle Doodling"challenge

(Google it!  You'll be amazed at what you'll find!!),

I just knew I had to play along, no ands, ifs or buts about it!!

I have been admiring zentangles and intricate doodling designs online for a while now, 

and have wanted to try to do some myself.  The last time I went to Michael's, 

I even bought myself a pad with special pens.  I have to admit though, 

I haven't taken the time to try them yet.  I used to draw a lot when I was younger. 

 I even took 1 year of Visual Arts at University and used to be very good at portraits,  

but ever since I started scrapbooking, this new hobby has taken over all of my artistic side. 

I haven't drawn in years!  So now I feel a bit intimidated I think. 

What if I forgot how to draw?!?

Anyway, I thought this challenge would force me to just dive in, sink or swim!

I think it's neither sink or swim for me... it's more like I'm just floating above the surface. ha!

Take a look at my layout:

I started by drawing the outline of a butterfly and created different designs in the wings.

It doesn't look like I would have wanted it to look, because I didn't even use the special pens I bought

for zentangling.  I used a large tip marker instead so the effect is less precise or intricate.

I also decided to add stitched swirls lined up with dots that I created with my marker.

With the added flowers and embellishments, I still like how the wings look against

the kraft background and underneath the picture of my niece Ella.

They say practice makes perfect... well I sure intend on practicing my zentangling

in the next few weeks, even if only for my own personal enjoyment.

I may or may not share some of my doodlings with you, but I do like

the idea of adding some to my layouts or cards as the Kraft+ DT creations,

as seen HERE, are so beautiful that they inspire me to try again.

Thank you for the inspiration to the talented Kraft+ team!!

Cutie Love (Bo Bunny August Sketch)

Being an English major graduate, I am obviously a Shakespeare fan,
so the "Star-Crossed" collection from BO BUNNY
spoke out to me as soon as I saw it, and ever since, I anticipated
the right moment to use these pretty papers on a project.

Well, here is my first layout using this beautiful collection:

I was inspired by the BO BUNNY AUGUST SKETCH CHALLENGE

which offers this pretty sketch as inspiration:

I used papers, layered chipboard and buttons from Star-Crossed.

The red flowers are also from Bo Bunny.  

It's the same flower from which I separated the layers to create 2 flowers.

These black and white photos of my beautiful nieces went perfectly with the layout!

Those smiles are just precious!!

Thank you Bo Bunny for wonderful paper collections and for the inspiration for this layout!

Click HERE if you'd also like to play along with this challenge!

Live Laugh Love (Scrap Around the World DT Reveal)

It's the 16th of the month so time for the mid-month reveal

at SCRAP AROUND THE WORLD, so you will see below my layout

inspired by the August mood board challenge that went live on August 1st!

This tranquil and vintage mood board was created by 

Jaya Raghuvanshi {India} 

Click HERE to see the project reveal of the first part of the SATW DT
and HERE to see the mid-month reveal that premiered today, including yours truly!

Now let's look at my layout based on this gorgeous mood board!

I didn't go with the overall travel theme of the board, but the photo was taken while

on a stroll in the woods so you can say that I was doing my own kind of 'exploring' the world! :)

This chipboard title comes from 2Crafty and most flowers are from Prima.

I used a lot of kraft colored corrugated paper, tag and embellishments

to reflect the color of the sandy shore in the board image.

The grid panel on the bottom I found in the kitchen section of my local Dollarstore.

It was in a 10x12 sheet of a very sturdy material, kraft colored, and I have no idea what was its original purpose... all I know is that when I saw it, I thought of how good it would look

on a mixed media project or used as a layer on a layout.

A few tags with simple but very inspirational quotes.

Hope you like my take on the SATW August mood board!

Click HERE for another look at all the wonderful prizes up for grabs this month

and to link up before August 31st for a chance to win!

Today (Off the Rails Scrapbooking DT Reveal)

As part of Team 1 at Off the Rails Scrapbooking,

it's time for me to reveal my project for the August mood palette

that is combined with a fabulous sketch this month created by Fiona Paltridge.

Click HERE to find out all details on this challenge!

You will see all the amazing creations of Team A's 1st reveal and 

click HERE to see the creations of the 2nd reveal (including yours truly).

This month's sponsor is none other than Graphic 45
which is offering this fabulous prize to the August winner.

Here's my layout based on the mood palette and sketch!

I am very pleased with how I was able to incorporate the colors of the palette.  I added some stamping as well as inking and misting to my background.  I also loved how the sketch had a lot of white space so I made sure to keep a lot of it on my layout too.

I was inspired by the quote and the little boy  pretending to fly, and so decided
to use pictures of a lone bird in the deep blue sky flying high.

The quote image was taken off the internet and printed on a clear acetate sheet
which I stuck to my layout with clear tape.  I bet you thought that I had wrote it out myself. :)

Remember to check out the rest of the mid-month inspiration 

right HERE on the Off the Rails Scrapbooking blog!

Later on this month, I will be back on here and on the OTR blog
to share with you a photo tutorial also inspired by this mood palette.

See you tomorrow for my Scrap Around the World DT reveal!